Number One
Number One is the twenty-forth and final episode of Season 1 of My Name Is Earl. Earl decides to cross off the first number on his Karma list, "stole ten dollars from a guy at the Camden Market". Earl to his dismay finds out that he owes much more than ten dollars, in fact he must surrender all his lotto winnings. Earl now ponders when Karma is going to help him with his misfortunes. Episode guide After Earl crosses #57 off his List, Darnell asks if he can choose what Earl does next, and he picks #1. Earl recalls that #1 was the last bad thing he did before discovering karma; Stole ten dollars from a guy at the Camden Market. He remembers taking the note from a man's pocket, and using it to buy the lottery ticket that changed his life. He went to the Market and looked at the security tapes, with the help of Iqball and Patty. He discovers that Paul, the man he stole the money from, tried to buy a scatch card but had no money, and so Earl got the scratch card that won him $100,000. He realized that he did not just owe Paul the $10 he stole; he owed him all his lottery winnings. Earl got out all the money from the bank and, despite Randy's pleads, took the cash to Paul's house. Randy tried to take it from him, but Earl overpowered him and got the money back. He gave the money to Paul, who was overjoyed. Earl explained that it was $5,000 short but he would get it to Paul when he could. They left, and foraged around to find something to eat. Earl decided that if he kept doing things from his List something good would happen, and looked for one that would cost them no money; #119 - Ruined Joy's chance to get into art school. He remembered back to when Joy tried to get into art school, meaning he would have to look after the children on his own, so he ruined her drawing entry and she did not get in. Earl went to see her, but she said she was not interested in art school anymore. He asked how he could make it up to her, and she said that she needed to try out some new products on him for her custom nails buisness. Meanwhile, Randy went to extreme lengths to absolve his hunger, trying to bite the cheese off a rat trap. He found a quarter, which he used to buy a lotto ticket, but it turned out that he had bought a fake one. After being kicked out of the Motel, Earl was forced to put his El Camino up for sale, and decided to continue crossing things off the List. He went to do #206 Refused to dance with too tall Maggy at the 8th grade dance, deciding to dance with Maggy to make up for it. However, before they could get there, the El Camino ran out of gas. He decided to walk, and after going in the complete wrong direction managed to find Maggy's house, and danced with her. By the time he returned to Randy in the El Camino it was night. They both fell asleep, but were woken up in the morning by a man interested in buying the El Camino, which he did for $1200. Randy was happy that "something good" had happened, but Earl remembered that he still owned money to Paul. They got on a bus to go to Paul's house, but on the way the bus ran into Paul himself. In the hospial, Paul explained that after Earl had been run down by the car, he had found Earl's winning ticket and taken it for himself. However, he had been run down moments later by the same old lady who ran Earl down. After he dropped the ticket, it went through the hands of several people in Camden, including Willie the One-Eyed Mailman, Patty the Daytime Hooker, Didi and even Joy. Earl realized that a lot of people could have had the ticket, but it wasn't meant to be. It was meant to go to Earl. Back in the hospital, Paul continued to explain that he did not like what the money did to him. He got new clothes, put his mother in a nursing home, and refused to give money to the poor. He was a whole different person, which led him to being run over once again, by the bus. He explained that "old lady karma", the name he had given to the woman that ran down Earl, Paul and was also present on the bus that ran Paul down again, did not want him to have the money, and he gave it back to Earl. Notes * This episode was nominated for the 2007 Eddie Award for Best Edited Half-Hour Series for Television. This episode was nominated for the 2007 Golden Reel Award for Best Sound Editing in Music for Television - Short Form. * When Randy confronts Earl on the road, there is a fence on Randy's right side and an open field on his left side. But when the shot reverses to behind Earl, the field is still on the left and the fence is still on the right when they should now be reversed. * When they ran out of gas on their way to see Too Tall Maggie, Earl leaves the car and walks to the assumed address. When he has to walk the other direction, he passes the car again and the cloud formation at the sky is the same when he left, although it should have considerably changed regarding the time it took him to walk all the way back and forth. Flashbacks * Randy gives Earl a swirly to make up for #57. * Earl ruins Joy's chances of getting into art school. * The story of how many people, including Willie, Patty, Didi and Joy could've had the winning lotto ticket is explained in a flashback. * Paul's life after Earl gave him the money is shown. List * Introduced and crossed off in this episode **- #1 Stole ten dollars from a guy at the Camden Market. **- #57 Gave Randy a swirly when he was five. **- #119 Ruined Joy's chance to get into art school. **- #206 Refused to dance with too tall Maggy at the 8th grade dance. Featured music *William Tell Overture" (Patty gives the store clerk a piggy back ride) *Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory OST - "The Candy Man" (Randy finds the silver dollar) *Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory OST - "Golden Ticket" (Randy buys the lottery ticket) *"Simple Man" by Lynyrd Skynyrd (Earl is at the wrong address) *"Here You Come Again" by Dolly Parton (Earl dances with Too Tall Maggie) *"Hold On Tight" by Electric Light Orchestra (The lottery ticket goes all over the place) *"The Boys Are Back in Town" by Thin Lizzy (Closing scene) Memorable quotes * Earl Hickey: (voiceover) Doing things on the list without money was starting to feel like surfing TV channels without a clicker. It can be done, but your legs will get awfully tired. * Earl Hickey: (voiceover) I came over to talk to Joy about getting her into art school, but all she wanted to talk about was how I gave my money away. * Joy Turner: Well the dummy has out-dummied himself, huh. Well, at least now you’re poor, I can stop being so nice to you. That just wears me out. * Randy Hickey: I’m starving Earl. Maybe we should go steal some food. You know I get angry when I’m hungry. Like the Hulk, only I don’t get all green and muscly, I just get dizzy and snap at people that don’t deserve it. * Earl Hickey: Thanks Crab Man. It’s about time I did number one. * Darnell: Good luck with that. And I hope I scrubbed that bat disease out of that toilet. But if you start seeing with your ears and whatnot… get to a doctor. * Darnell Turner: Question, Earl. How do you decide what you’re gonna do next on your list? If it’s too personal, I’ll mind my own beeswax. * Earl Hickey: Well ah, sometimes karma gives me a sign, other times I just pick one at random. * Randy Hickey: And sometimes he lets me pick, but I get a little freaked out when I play God. That’s why I also don’t vote on American Idol. Cast Starring * Jason Lee as Earl Hickey * Ethan Suplee as Randy Hickey * Jaime Pressly as Joy Turner * Nadine Velazquez as Catalina * Eddie Steeples as Darnell Turner Recurring * Dale Dickey as Patty * Tracy Ashton as Didi Guest starring * Lin Shaye as Paul's Mom * Max Perlich as Paul * Abdul Goznobi as Iqball * Alexis Skye as Too Tall Maggie * Dennis Burkley as Roy Wade * Yetta Ginsburg as Joan * Bill Suplee as Willie the One-Eyed Mailman * Cameron Clapp as Jake * Mio Takada as Father Category:Episodes 124 Category:Featured articles